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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — an aim
  9. bass — low music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wake — a trail
  13. object — to protest
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pit — a hole
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — in a race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com